Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Rating: T

What If

Chapter 4

"And you are still claiming that you are none the wiser about where she was while she was dead" Travers said suspiciously, looking down at the notes he had taken while Giles had sat in front of the board.

Giles gritted his teeth and sighed, "I'm not claiming anything. She has so far been unwilling to talk about it. The trauma of digging out of her own grave has been enough for her to deal with and I feel no inclination to push her" he told him. He had decided to keep her whereabouts to himself, unsure what the council would do if they knew the truth.

"Is she incapable of carrying out her duties?" Travers asked looking at him over the top of his glasses with an almost predatory anticipation flashing in his eyes.

"She's shown no incapabilities in the field, in fact she is more efficient and driven" Smarmy git.

Travers launched into a lecture about his penchant for going easy on her and Giles tuned it out. He had been sat in front of Travers for the last hour, having been called in for an eight am meeting, going over everything he had told the board. After a week of dealing with bureaucratic toadies, the board, Travers and the endless reams of paperwork that needed to be filled out and filed he'd had enough.

Buffy had sounded distant the previous afternoon when he had called her and he was worried about her. She'd told him that everything was fine, that she was getting along with the others better and that things had settled down. She asked if he wanted to stay at her house when he got back but was evasive when he asked how she was sleeping and if she was eating enough and then she had begged off the phone before he could answer saying Dawn had needed her help with something.

Spike on the other hand had been leaving him very informative messages. From what he had said Buffy was taking care of everything around the house with Willow and Tara occasionally taking breakfast and laundry duties. She had been single minded on her patrols, hunting from dusk to dawn, and the nightmares had indeed returned, the same night he had left apparently. Spike also said the others had no idea that she was drowning trying to act like she was ok.

Giles tuned back into what Travers was saying and smirked at him, "Really Quentin, have you forgotten what happened the last time you wanted to put Buffy through her paces? From what I hear Nigel still pisses himself when so much as a paper clip is thrown in his direction"

"There's no need for you to resort to comments like that Rupert, I'm merely saying that Buffy should be tested by a qualified party to determine her psychological state" Travers said smugly.

"I'm more than qualified to determine if Buffy should be performing her duties as the Slayer or not" Giles growled at him, "Now, are you going to stop trying to push my buttons long enough to tell me if she gets the wage granted to Slayers? Or should I go directly to the board with this request? I have a feeling they would be extremely upset to find out that she isn't already in receipt of it"

Travers blanched and dropped his eyes to his paperwork, "There is no need for threats Rupert" he blustered, glaring up at him, "I'm going to be looking into the procedure this afternoon".

"I beg to differ Quentin." Giles said unable to completely hide the smirk that twitched his lips. "I hope that you will organise the payments to reflect what she is already owed and before you get any ideas about trying to undermine my authority as her Watcher and her position as the only active Slayer, not currently in prison that is, then you should know that Mr Winthorpe is fully aware of the requests I have made to you today" Giles said in a tone that dripped with satisfaction.

"You have involved the senior board members already! How dare you!" Travers thundered, slamming a hand down on his desk as he stood.

"What did you expect after the way you have behaved in the past?" Giles hissed standing up and looming over the desk, "Mr Winthorpe was very disappointed to hear about your conduct earlier this year in regards to our request for information about Glory and he was fascinated when I told him how Buffy handled you" Giles said trying to remain calm, pride obvious in his smile and voice when he spoke of Buffy.

"Then it's obvious that I have no choice but to agree to your requests" Travers fumed and sat back down.

"The paperwork was started directly after my meeting with Mr Winthorpe," Giles said smugly smoothing down his tie and buttoning his jacket, "they'll be delivered to you for your signature by Monday afternoon"

Travers glared up at him and Giles could almost see the steam pouring from his ears when he realised that his plan to draw out the process had been thwarted. Smiling he tipped an imaginary hat, "Good day Quentin" he said and almost skipped out of his office.

Now that was taken care of he could get back to Buffy and see for himself what was wrong.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Buffy stared up at the drippy pipe with a scowl, "I can handle a drippy pipe Dawn" she said as she attached the wrench to the nut.

"I have the number, I can call a plumber" Dawn said again sitting on the stairs.

"For the last time no, I can do it" she said turning the wrench with ease.

She smiled back at Dawn over her shoulder when she finished and the drip stopped, "See, told you we didn't need a plumber"

Dawn shrugged her shoulders trying to hold back a grin. She wasn't as blind as the others, she knew that Buffy was struggling without Giles around as her security blanket but she was proud of her for trying to live again.

As Buffy took a step towards her water exploded from the rest of the pipes causing Dawn to shriek and run up the stairs to the kitchen. Buffys shoulders drooped in defeat and she followed her, calling for Willow when she entered the kitchen.

I miss Giles she thought as she walked home from the bank. Being told that she was broke then being turned down for a loan after beating the crap out of a demon all in the same day was less fun without his sarcasm and quick wit to make her laugh and his calm easy going manner to make her see that she could deal with it.

There was no one home when she trudged through the door so she dropped the fake smile and headed to the kitchen for some juice and to get dinner started. She saw the note telling her that they were all at the Magic Box when she shut the fridge door and she perked up a little.

The workout bag lived at the Magic Box.

Pounding the bag, she let herself feel the anger that she had been suppressing towards Willow and the others. The loan officer swam before her eyes a few times too but she was more frustrated by the way she had left things with Giles on the phone.

She knew she must have seemed distant but whenever she heard his voice she'd had to bite her tongue on the urge to burst into tears and beg him to come home. She was determined to show him she could do it by herself and fought to ignore the urge to let him take care of her.

She was also worried about what Spike had been telling him. She knew that he was feeding Giles information about her which is why she had been careful to hide the extent of her pain from him. She didn't want Giles to worry while he was in England dealing with the council.

When Willow started commenting on how great it was that she was showing her emotions she felt the childish need to stop. She had honestly forgotten she was there. Solely focused on the bag in front of her, she had only heard snippets of what she had been saying and had been giving vague replies when it seemed she wanted them. She felt a kind of perverse pleasure when Willow started to look uncomfortable because she was just staring at her.

"Come on, let's go and see if they've turned up anything on that demon at the bank" Buffy said stripping off her gloves and throwing them on the sofa as they passed it.

"Yeah I still don't get why a demon would want to rob a bank, or help someone else rob it" Willow said as they walked through the training room, "I mean it's not like they don't just take what they want anyway"

Buffy just shrugged her shoulders as they walked through the door in time to hear Dawn reading a passage from one of the demon books.

"Hey, I found your demon" she said proudly when she saw Buffy.

"You're doing research now?" Buffy asked her, surprise leaking into her voice, "Want a pack of cigarettes and cappuccino to go with that?" she asked sarcastically.

Dawn rolled her eyes at her and just held up the book, "Would you just look at it"

"Doesn't exactly fit the profile of your typical bank robber" Xander said

"Maybe they turned down his loan" Buffy said giving Willow a small smile, "but that's him, big, bad and ugly. He was strong guys, no weapons that I could see….." she looked up and saw Giles walking towards her, her mouth finished the sentence without the help of her brain which was telling her to run at him, "Still….real…..dangerous"

The others turned to see what she was staring at and then turned their attention back to the books, only Dawn and Xander grinned at him as Buffy started to walk towards Giles.

She threw her arms around him and squeezed, "I missed you" she muttered into his chest.

"Can't...breath" he gasped and she let him go.

"Oops, sorry" she said giving him an apologetic smile, patting his chest as he pulled in a couple of deep breaths.

"How are you?" he asked her cupping his hand around her cheek and she gave into the urge to nuzzle into it, grinning when his eyes widened.

"Better now" she said, "A demon attacked the bank today" she told him as he led her towards the training room.

"Why on earth would a demon attack the bank?" he asked watching her sit down.

"So someone could rob it," she said with a look that screamed duh and he grinned at her.

"How have you been while I was away?" he asked, sitting down next to her on the sofa.

"Ok I guess, nightmares came back and the candles are no help" she said looking at the floor, "I told them thank you" she whispered not looking at him.

He tutted and pulled her to him, tucking her head under his chin. He blinked in surprise at his own actions and at hers when she rubbed her cheek against is chest and sighed in what he thought was pleasure, "We'll talk about that later" he whispered, forcing himself to ignore the way her fingers rubbed lightly over his stomach, "when we can be sure there isn't an audience"

She nodded, resisting the urge to purr when he gently rubbed her back, "What happened at the council?" she asked him swallowing the urge to find out what he thought their shared kiss had meant.

"Bureaucratic nonsense mostly" he said, "but I managed to pull one over on that pillock Travers"

She sat up grinning with glee, "Really, how?"

"I went over his head to make sure he actually did something for you, didn't stop him from telling me he would like to send someone to evaluate your psychological health" he said chuckling at the image of Travers' face when he realised he wouldn't be able to do it.

Buffy started to hyperventilate and stood up, moving away from him, panicking, "He can't" she gasped out and dropped to her knees.

Giles was by her side in a blink, both hands squeezing her shoulders, "Breath love, just breath" he said pulling her up against his chest and wrapping an arm tightly around her, "It's ok he won't be doing that, I won't let him near you"

"Promise?" she asked when she could talk.

"I swear to you he won't hurt you ever again" Giles whispered in her ear.

They sat like that on the floor until she had calmed down enough to stand, "Shall we see about this demon so we can go home?" she asked helping him to his feet.

"Good idea, I feel like I could sleep for a month" he said walking with her to the door.

"Jet lag will do that to ya or so I hear" she said with a sage nod, "or it could be because you're old"

He saw her grin and knew she was teasing him, "Oi!" he said loudly poking a finger into her ribs, chuckling when she started to giggle.

"So, what have you discovered about this demon?" he asked the group when they had re-entered the shop.

"I found it" Dawn said excitedly handing him the book.

Giles looked down at the book, "M'Fashnik, oh"

"You know it?" Tara asked him.

"By reputation, yes. They, they come from a long line of mercenary demons that perform acts of slaughter and mayhem for the highest bidder" he said looking up from the book with a frown on his face when he saw Buffy pick his bags up and head towards the door.

"Well it is the American way" Xander said with a grin.

"Yes, but, uh, the question now becomes, what's out there powerful enough to control one of these things?" he said putting the book down on the table.

"There's not much we can do about it now though, is there?" Buffy asked from behind him.

He turned and saw her leaning against the shelves at the top of the stairs. He smiled shyly and nodded his head in agreement, "No, unfortunately we may have to wait for another attack to be able to track what, or whoever, is controlling the M'Fashnik"

"Does that mean we can go home then coz I'm starving" Dawn said twisting round in her chair, looking over at Buffy with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Big shock there" Buffy said rolling her eyes, "There's a beef stew in the slow cooker, will that satisfy your demonic hunger?"

"Uh, yeah!" Dawn said shoving things back in her bag, "Are we going or not?"

"When did you make beef stew Buff?" Xander asked as he stacked the books on the table ready to be put away.

"Shoved everything in the slow cooker before I showed up here with any luck I haven't blown it up" Buffy said with a shrug, stepping down into the shop to watch Giles packing up some of the candles from the display at the back, "I said they didn't help anymore Giles" she called out.

"These are different than the ones you've been using" he said dropping a pack of tealights into the already bulging sack, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep, stew should have another hour until it's done so if you wanna shower or whatever then you have time" she said then blinked in surprise, "Sorry, I didn't mean to...I mean are you going back to your place?" she asked and he could see her struggle with herself for a moment before she took a deep breath and smiled at him.

He smiled gratefully at her, "I may just take advantage of that offer and I was planning on staying with you tonight just to be sure that you really are alright" his heart flipping in his chest again when she blew out a relieved breath and nodded at him.

"Uh Buff? Did you make the stew big enough for me and Tara?" Willow asked her, taking a couple of books from Xander to re-shelve.

"I thought you guys were going to the cinema tonight, that was tonight right? I haven't messed up my days again have I?" Buffy said her forehead wrinkling in confusion.

"We were going to the cinema tomorrow night Buff, I told you this morning before you left for the bank remember?" Willow told her looking slightly disappointed.

"Oh, well I, uh, I could make something else for you guys if you want" Buffy said with a frown.

"No Buffy, it's ok" Tara said going over to her and gently placing a hand on her arm, "I'm in the mood for some Chinese anyway and I know Will can't turn down an egg roll if it's offered" Tara said smiling at Willow who nodded.

"Right that's settled then, shall we go?" Giles said putting his hand on Buffy's shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze, "I might have remembered to bring back a few souvenirs this time"

"Really?" Dawn asked excitedly, squealing happily at his nod, "Let's go then, bye guys" she called out over her shoulder as she rushed from the shop.

"She never learns" Buffy huffed hurrying to catch up to Dawn with Giles bringing up the rear.

Buffy was quiet in the car on the way back to the house. Giles kept shooting her worried glances but thought it best to wait until they were alone to ask the questions that were troubling him.

Buffy told Dawn to help Giles take his bags upstairs when they got home while she checked the stew and took the triple chocolate gateau from the fridge to finish defrosting.

"Has Willow made a habit of changing plans at the last minute to make Buffy feel bad?" Giles asked Dawn in a whisper after they had deposited his bags at the foot of Buffy's bed.

"Nope, today was the first time for that trick" Dawn said, her eyes narrowing into angry slits as she folded her arms, "How did you catch that?"

"Tara, she looked confused when Willow said their date was for tomorrow night" Giles said as he walked around the room placing candles everywhere he could put them with a few incense sticks placed in front or behind them.

"Willow has been milking Buffy's fake gratitude ever since you left," Dawn said sitting on Buffy's bed and watching him, "sometimes she asks her to do something last minute and pretends that she'd actually asked her earlier in the day"

"Interesting" Giles murmured as he set out the last of the tealights.

"That's one word for it" Dawn grumbled.

"How has she been doing really?" he asked her sitting on the chair in front of the vanity.

"She's trying really hard and mostly she's doing great but I can tell she's hurting," she said looking up at him, with a sad smile on her face, "she's come up with the idea to try and stand on her own instead of leaning on you all the time"

Giles smiled proudly at Buffy's desire to stand on her own two feet again, "Good I'm glad" he said and stood up, "Now why don't you go and see if your sister needs any help while I have a quick shower before dinner is ready"

Dawn rolled her eyes, "What about those souvenirs you dangled in front of me?" she said with a cheeky grin.

Giles laughed at her while he unzipped his bags, "Here you go" he said handing her a gift box.

"Wow thanks Giles" she said happily giving him a quick hug before taking the box and running from the room.

Shaking his head he retrieved his wash bag and a change of clothes then headed towards the bathroom for a much needed shower.

"Dinner is served guys" Buffy called up forty five minutes later just as Giles appeared at the top of the stairs freshly showered and shaved.

"Smells wonderful Buffy" he said as he walked down the stairs.

"Bet it tastes good too," Dawn said behind him, "hurry up already I'm starving"

"Oh do forgive me Dawn, I'd rather not greet my return to America by falling on the stairs" he said sarcastically, grinning at Buffy's giggle.

"Whatever just hurry up" Dawn huffed.

She raced past them when he reached the bottom of the stairs, "Eww what's that thing in Giles' stew? It looks like a ball of fat"

Giles raised his eyebrows and looked at his bowl, a happy grin erupting on his face, "You made a dumpling?" he asked looking down at Buffy.

She blushed and shrugged as she sat down, "I made it for me, curious I guess," she said picking up her fork, "you talked about them so much I wanted to know what all the fuss was about so I got the recipe from the net"

"Well why don't you try it then" he said lifting his knife and fork and cutting a piece off.

Buffy hesitantly slid the piece of dumpling from his fork and chewed, "Mmm, that's not bad actually" she said when she was finished.

Smiling, Giles didn't hesitate to cut the dumpling in half and transfer a portion to her bowl. He hadn't missed that her portion of stew was much smaller than his or Dawns, "There you go" he said.

"Well I don't wanna try it, it looks gross" Dawn muttered around a mouthful of beef.

"Don't talk with your mouthful" Buffy admonished her as she cut another piece off of the dumpling, smiling happily for the first time in a week.

They had just finished dessert when the demon broke through the front door. Dawn screamed and hid under the table, clutching the bags that Giles had given to her and Buffy to her chest, while Giles distracted it long enough for Buffy to get behind it. Giles was backhanded through the banister and Buffy saw red. She managed to knock him back into the kitchen and down into the basement. She tried to drown him in the few feet of water that had accumulated but he threw her off.

"No!" she screamed at him when he pulled a section of pipe out.

He charged at her and she ducked his swing, delivering a kick to his midsection that made him stagger back. She yanked the pipe from his hands and pulled it tightly against his throat from behind until he fell forward.

"Full copper re-pipe!" she shouted as she beat him around the head with the pipe, "No more full copper re-pipe!"

"Uh, I think he's dead Slayer" Spike said, standing at the top of the stairs, "Did you know your basement was flooded?"

Buffy just stood there staring down at the corpse of the demon until she heard a moan from Giles. She threw the pipe down and ran up the stairs past Spike, "Dawn, Giles!"

"I'm fine" Dawn said shakily as she helped Giles sit up to lean against the wall.

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked her dropping down next to them and taking Dawns face in her hands, looking over her.

"I'm sure, I hid under the table" Dawn said sheepishly.

Buffy smiled at her and rubbed her cheek with her thumb, "Good, now can you get Giles an ice pack?"

"Sure" Dawn said pushing herself to her feet and stepping over Giles' legs as she moved towards the kitchen.

Buffy was already examining Giles, "I know you hurt your head but how is the rest of you?" she asked him as she ran her fingers through his hair, wincing in sympathy when he jerked away from her touch.

"I can always tell when I'm back in America by the head trauma" he said with a painful grin, "The rest of me is sore but fine"

"Let's get you to the sofa so the rest of you is comfy" she said helping him to his feet.

"Did I hear Spike say that your basement is flooded?" he asked her as she settled him on the sofa.

"Uh, yeah, it's something about the pipes and how they need to be replaced" she said taking the ice pack from Dawn, looking out into the hall and tensing when she heard the backdoor open. She relaxed again when she heard Spike swearing about how heavy the demon was and realised he must be getting rid of it for her.

"Are there problems in getting them repaired?" he asked with a hiss when she put the ice pack on his head.

"Just one, we have no money" Buffy said with a shrug, "Anya suggested I burn down the house and collect the insurance, which is starting to sound like a good idea at this point"

"Is that why you were at the bank today?" he asked her, taking her hand in his.

She nodded and moved his hand into her lap, playing with his fingers, "Didn't get the loan so now I don't know what to do"

"We'll get through it" Dawn said, "I'll quit school and get a job to help pay the bills"

"The Hell you will!"

"No you bloody won't!"

Dawn giggled at the identical looks of outrage on Buffy and Giles' faces, "Darn it" she said snapping her fingers, "And I was hoping I wouldn't have to sit Miss Shevardi's history test next week"

"Well keep hoping" Buffy said letting go of Giles' hand and standing up at the same time the phone started ringing, "Now you go upstairs and get ready for bed while I answer that phone and start cleaning up down here"

"But, but.." Dawn said stumbling as Buffy pushed her towards the stairs.

"No buts, go" Buffy said sternly, pointing up the stairs.

Dawn sighed and trudged up the stairs, muttering under her breath, "It's only nine o'clock, I'm not even tired".

Spike came back into the house just as Buffy answered the phone, "What does that ponce want?" he asked loudly and she flipped him off.

"No Angel I'm fine, who told you I was back?" she asked coming back into the living room and looking over at Giles.

"Willow phoned you half an hour ago, of course she did" she said with a sigh.

She went ridged and her eyes flashed with anger, "No he is not!"

"Willows done it now mate" Spike said with a grin, "She's only gone and told peaches that she's worried you're taking advantage of her"

"She what?" Giles asked in shock, his jaw locking in anger when Spike just nodded at him.

"I don't care what she said Angel he has been the only one, well, apart from Dawn and Spike, who has been there for me and not expected me to put on a smile and sing their praises" she said angrily, "He has cared for me, bandaged my wounds, supported me…."

"Brace yourself" Spike said looking over his shoulder at the front yard.

Giles turned to look and saw Willow, Tara, Anya and Xander walking towards the house.

"No Angel she didn't…..I don't care what she told you….no I don't want you here...exactly...thank you for checking up on me….yeah bye"

"Was that Angel?" Willow asked innocently.

"Yes it was, thank you so much" Buffy said throwing the phone on the chair with a glare.

"What did I do?" Willow asked shocked

"Nothing" Buffy said shaking her head, "I have things to do, just...just leave me alone" she said tiredly and bent to pick up a piece of the bannister.

"Buff we'll do that, why don't you just take care of Giles" Xander said putting his hand on her arm and stopping her from turning, "You looked wiped"

"Gee thanks," she said unable to stop the grin.

"Go on upstairs Buffy" Tara said as she stood with a piece of a vase in her hands.

"Ok, ok" she said holding her hands up in defeat, "Come on Giles" she said holding a hand out for him to pull himself to his feet.

Giles just smiled down at her when she pulled his arm around her shoulders and supported his waist as she helped him up the stairs. He knew that she knew he didn't need the help but he could tell that she wanted to take care of him and he would stake himself before he denied her that comfort.

"You gonna help Spike or are you just gonna sit there and watch?" they heard Xander ask as they climbed the stairs.

"I've already done my bit Harris, but I am willing to fetch you an apron" Spike replied and they both bit down on a giggle.

"Bite me Spike" Xander growled at him, "Oh that's right you can't"

Buffy shut her her bedroom door on Spikes reply and finally let out the laugh she had been holding in. Giles smiled down at her, forcing away the urge to press his lips to hers as he watched her eyes dance with amusement.